How's Your Running Body?

Good running form plays a large role in remaining injury-free, and remaining injury-free plays a large role in being able to run farther and faster. Let's start by looking at five basic elements of good running form. Then we'll get into some tests to see if your body has the structural integrity to maintain those elements of good form.

THE PARTS OF THE WHOLE

1) POSTURAL ALIGNMENT: Any deviation from optimal alignment will reduce efficiency and lead to musculoskeletal injuries.

2) RANGE OF MOTION: Flexibility is crucial to ensuring complete mobility throughout the running motion. Limited range of motion inhibits the body's ability to complete the full running gait cycle, thereby displacing forces and causing imbalances.

3) JOINT INTEGRITY STRENGTH:Your body must mobilize the forces of landing with 2.5–5 times body weight on every step; multiply that by the number of steps per mile, the number of miles run per year and the number of years you've been running, and you can begin to grasp the impact that your runner's body endures. To assist the body in properly handling these forces, strength is required, particularly at the joint intersections and tendinous attachments, which serve as the body's hinges or fulcrums.

4) MUSCLE ACTIVATION: The nervous and muscular systems work in concert; to move efficiently in forward motion, activation of your posterior muscles (gluteals, hamstrings, lower back) is required. The muscles must first be strong and functioning well before they can adequately "fire." Active-isolated flexibility and strengthening, dynamic range-of-motion exercises and form drills will begin this process of muscle activation and reinforce or "cue" these proper movement patterns in the body.

5) BIOMECHANICS:The integration of correct postural alignment into the running movement requires attention and thought. Some basic concepts are: run tall, making sure that your neck and shoulders are in alignment slightly behind you; land on your forefoot to midfoot with your foot landing directly under your center of gravity; stay light on your feet; stay low to the ground, without shuffling, yet don't bounce or "prance." This optimal positioning will keep your power to the ground and propel you forward in an efficient manner.

TESTING, TESTING... 1, 2, 3

Now let's look at a few simple tests you can do at home to see how your running body rates in key areas that contribute to good running form.

SELF-TEST #1: Postural Alignment

One of the simplest ways to see if you're maintaining optimum postural alignment is to stand against a wall with your heels, pelvis, back, shoulders and head touching the surface of the wall. Take a moment to observe how your body feels in this position; this is close to ideal postural alignment. Now take two or three steps away and allow yourself to adjust back to your normal daily posture.

Does your daily posture feel different from the optimal postural alignment against the wall? Most likely it will, as most of us have become comfortable living a life in a mostly forward orientation; the medical community calls this anterior or forward flexion "going to ground." The combination of gravitational forces and the overuse of flexor muscles makes it hard to stay optimally upright. Armed with this new awareness, you can perform check-ins throughout the day to reinforce good postural habits.

SELF-TEST #2: Range of Motion

The following tests cover a few important areas of the body and provide a snapshot of your body's flexibility.

A) CHEST/PECTORALIS MAJOR

Stand with your feet slightly apart. Straighten your arms and lock your elbows. Put your fingertips together in front of you and then swing both arms back behind you. Take note of your end range of motion.

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DEGREES

LEFT POSITION ON CLOCK

RIGHT POSITION ON CLOCK(12:00 straight in front of you)

RANGE OF MOTION

0–75°

12:00–9:30

12:00–2:30

Too Tight

75–105°

9:30–8:30

2:30–3:30

Normal

105–135°

8:30–7:30

3:30–4:30

Optimal

135–180°

6:00–7:30

4:30–6:00

Hypermobile

B. HAMSTRING

Begin lying on your back with your non-exercising knee bent and with that foot flat on the floor. Take a rope and hold the ends together so that it forms a loop. Place the foot of the leg you're exercising into the loop. Lock that knee so that your leg is extended straight out. From your hip and using your quadriceps, lift your leg as far as comfortably possible without using the rope to pull you farther back; your muscles should be doing the work. Take note of your end range of motion.

DEGREES

POSITION ON CLOCK (12:00 straight up)

RANGE OF MOTION

0-75°

9:00-11:30

Too Tight

75-90°

11:30-12:00

Normal

90-120°

12:00-1:00

Optimal

120-150°

1:00-2:00

Hypermobile

C. HIP ADDUCTORS

Lie on your back with both legs extended straight out. Take a rope and hold the ends together so that it forms a loop. Place the foot of the leg you're exercising into the loop and wrap the rope around the inside of the ankle so that the ends of the rope are on the outside. Lock that knee. Rotate your non-exercising leg inward slightly. From your hip and using your abductors (outer thigh), extend your exercising leg out from the side of your body, leading with your heel. Go as far as is comfortable. Take note of your end range.

DEGREES

LEFT POSITION ON CLOCK

RIGHT POSITION ON CLOCK (12:00 above your head)

RANGE OF MOTION

0-45°

6:00-4:30

6:00-7:30

Too Tight

45-75°

4:30-3:30

7:30-8:30

Normal

75-105°

3:30-2:30

8:30-9:30

Optimal

105-180°

2:30-12:00

9:30-12:00

Hypermobile

SELF-TEST #3: Joint-Integrity Strength

All muscles work in pairs; the following assessments will help evaluate a few muscle groups that are vital to the running stride. In each, you'll separately test the strength of one muscle, then its opposing member. Then you'll compare the ratio of one to the other, and see how that compares to the ideal strength ratio for that muscle pair. To best perform these tests, use ankle weights, as described below. If you don't have access to ankle weights, it's possible to glean some information by completing these tests without weights and assessing the relative ease with which you can do the exercises.

Lie on your side on a flat surface with both legs extended and your body straight. Fasten weights on both ankles, but work only one leg at a time. Bend the knee of your bottom (non-exercising) leg 90 degrees toward your chest to take the pressure off your back and keep you from rolling. Keep the knee of your top (exercising) leg straight.

Lift your foot straight up toward the ceiling, leading with the heel. This keeps the leg internally rotated. When you have gone as far as you can go, pause, lower your leg, and return slowly to the starting position in preparation for the next rep. Be careful not to slam your toes to the floor. Find the weight at which you can do 10 reps comfortably.

ADDUCTOR TEST

Fasten the ankle weights around both ankles. Lie on your side on a flat surface with both knees straight and legs extended straight out. Correct alignment is critical in this assessment; be certain that you stack up in a straight line shoulder to hip to heel. The bottom leg is the one you're testing the strength of.

Lift your top leg and rest your foot or ankle on a low stable surface such as a chair. Your top leg should be at approximately a 45-degree angle to the floor. Contract your abdominals to keep from rolling and to stabilize your torso. Contract your inner thigh muscles to bring your exercising leg up to meet your top leg. Keep your knee locked. Pause, lower your leg and return slowly to the starting position. Find the weight at which you can do 10 reps comfortably.

B. QUADRICEPS TO HAMSTRING STRENGTH-RATIO TEST

QUADRICEPS TEST

Fasten an ankle weight around each of your ankles. Sit on a chair with your back straight and your feet flat on the floor. Tighten your abdominal muscles to stabilize your torso.

Flex your toes up. Extend your leg straight out. Lock your knee. Contract the medial side of the head of the vastus medialis--the insertion of the small muscle at the top of the kneecap on the inside of your thigh. Pause and return slowly to the starting position in preparation for the next rep. Find the weight at which you can do 10 reps comfortably.

HAMSTRING TEST

Lie on your stomach on a flat surface. Flex your knee by contracting your hamstrings, bringing your foot toward your buttocks. Keep your hips flat on the surface and your foot straight; be careful not to engage other muscles such as those in the back or the gluteals, in order to isolate the muscles in the middle of the rear thigh. Pause and return slowly to the starting position in preparation for the next rep. Find the weight at which you can do 10 reps comfortably.